Legendary animator Chuck Jones (already well know for his animation at Warner Brothers) begins working at the Disney Studios. He will only stay for 4 months before returning

to Warner. Despite the fact that his brief tenure at Disney will not be satisfying for either himself or Walt Disney, Jones will still hold the Disney Studios and Walt in the highest regard for the rest of his life.

1955:

Eighteen-year-old Bob Penfield begins working at Disneyland four days before the

park's grand opening. He is attending an orientation for Cast Members. Bob will earn $1.65 an hour. (He

will go on to work for Disneyland for the next 42 years, making him the longest working Cast Member in history!)

Sydney acting as witnesses. (Born in Spalding, Idaho, Lillian grew up in Lapwai, Idaho, on the Nez Perce Indian

Reservation, where her father worked as a blacksmith and federal marshal. She moved to Los Angeles in 1923,

and got a job at the fledgling Walt Disney Studio as a secretary and "inker" of animated cels.)

1935:

Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon Mickey's Garden is released. Directed by Wilfred Jackson, it is the second Mickey cartoon produced in color and the first color appearance of Pluto. It is also the first short Ollie Johnston (a cleanup artist at this time) has worked on.

1940:

Actor Patrick Stewart, the voice of Mr. Woolensworth in the 2005 animated

feature Chicken Little, is born in England. His Disney credits also include the voice of The Great

Prince in the 2006 Bambi II. Stewart was originally offered the role of Jafar in Aladdin, but had to turn it down

because he was filming Star Trek: The Next Generation. (Science fiction fans know him as Captain Jean-Luc

Picard from both Star Trek films & television series and as Professor Charles Xavier from the X-Men films.)

1945:

Disney's Goofy cartoon Californy er Bust is released. In this short,

directed by Jack Kinney, Goofy takes a covered wagon on the overland trail to California.

"The Pre-Opening Report from Disneyland," the final

progress report on Disneyland's construction airs on the ABC series

Disneylandjust four days before the theme park's grand opening. Guest stars

Disney's Pocahontas soundtrack reaches #1 on the Billboard chart, knocking off Michael Jackson's album HIStory.

2001:

The Disney Channel Original Movie The Jennie Project premieres. About a chimpanzee

who knows and uses American Sign Language to communicate, the film features Alex D. Linz and Sheila Kelley.

1928:

Actor Bob Crane is born in Waterbury, Connecticut. Famously known as Colonel Hogan on the classic TV sitcom Hogan's Heroes, Crane appeared in the live-action Disney films Superdad (as Charlie McCready) and Gus (as Pepper). Nominated twice for an Emmy, Crane also appeared in a 1961 episode of The Twilight Zone.

2006:

Comedian/actor Red Buttons passes away at his home in California at age 87.

Disney fans will remember him as the cowardly Hoagy who assisted Doc Terminus in Disney's 1977 Pete's Dragon.

An Academy Award-winning character actor, Buttons enjoyed a career that spanned more than seven decades!

1994:

The soundtrack to Disney's animated The Lion King is released on Walt Disney

Records. Among the 12 tunes featured on the disc is Elton John & Tim Rice's "Can You Feel The Love

Actor/comedian Cheech Marin (best known as half the comedic duo of Cheech and Chong) is born in Los Angeles, California. His Disney voice credits include Cars and Cars 2 as Ramone, The Lion King as Banzai the Hyena, Oliver & Company as Tito, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua as

Manuel. (Fans of TV's Nash Bridges may remember Marin for his role of Joe Dominguez.)

A petrified tree stump is installed at Disneyland on the Rivers of America riverbank in Frontierland. Walt Disney had bought the 5-ton, 10-foot high stump himself last year during a trip to Pike's Petrified Forest in Colorado.

"Disneyland storyteller," passes away at age 86 in Issaquah, Washington.

Born in 1925, she grew up in Seattle and graduated from the University of Washington drama

school. Tyler's first job with Disney was as narrator on phonograph records for Disneyland Records in the 1960s. Tyler narrated beloved vinyl recordings of Bambi, Babes in Toyland, Hans Brinker, and More Mother Goose. When the original Mickey Mouse Club was re-edited and repackaged for syndication in 1962, Tyler was appointed Head Mouseketeer, live from Disneyland where she hosted a live 15-minute daily segment of the program. (Tyler also gave voice to Polynesia the Parrot, who helped teach Rex Harrison to talk to the animals in the 1967 film Dr. Dolittle.)